5 Possible Replacements For Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid's season has been, in a word, catastrophic. Coming into it as the winners of La Liga and the Champions League, expectations were high that Zidane could lead his side to similar success in 2017/2018.

Yesterday's frustrating 2-2 draw against Levante, however, further compounded a dismal campaign. Madrid now lie a massive 18 points behind their arch-rivals Barcelona. Star players such as Cristiano Ronaldo haven't been playing anywhere their near best, which hasn't helped, but it feels like Zidane has to take responsibility for their failures.

Too often, he hasn't seemed to have a plan B when things haven't been working out on the pitch. Madrid and President Florentino Perez aren't known for their patience with managers so it's more than likely that Zidane will be out of a job unless something miraculous happens. Here, we will look at 5 of the best managers who could replace the Frenchman.

#5 Thomas Tuchel

The German coach has been mentioned in conjunction with many top jobs around Europe since he left Borussia Dortmund after last season. His name is often discussed as a potential replacement should Chelsea fire Antonio Conte. However, the Real Madrid job could prove more tempting if it became available.

He took the team to 2nd and 3rd placed finishes in his 2 seasons and won the DFB-Pokal but his dismissal seems to have been more a result of his fractured relationship with Dortmund's hierarchy.

Tuchel is respected as a strong tactician and had Dortmund playing some delightful football during his tenure. Madrid have not had a proper tactician in charge since Jose Mourinho left in 2013: both Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti before him prefer to let their players express themselves more freely and hope success will follow.

Perhaps this struggling Madrid team could use a coach with strong ideas as too often this season, players have looked lost when things haven't immediately gone their way.

Tuchel also became known for his relationships with Dortmund's big players who had been at the club a long time as he was not afraid to drop them completely from squads in favor of his own players and this treatment may be effective for this current Madrid side; players like Sergio Ramos and Ronaldo have too much power and control and seem completely safe in the starting lineup.

Ronaldo, especially, has performed terribly this season so far, and Tuchel wouldn't be afraid to let him know this.